GBTA OPENS ‘ASSOCIATE' DOOR TO NEW SUPPLIER MEMBERS
The influential Guild of Business Travel Agents (GBTA) is attempting to broaden and strengthen its relationships with major suppliers by introducing a new “associate membership” category.
“Guild members need, for their clients' sakes, to maintain close working relationships with a wide range of travel suppliers, from airlines to insurance companies, and from hoteliers to technology providers,” says Guild chief executive Philip Carlisle.
“By introducing the new associate membership, we hope to enable more suppliers to become an integral part of the all-important process of serving the country's business travel community.”
Up to now, major suppliers have been welcomed into the GBTA's ranks as “partners”, a membership status which offers various privileges – access to GBTA members' sessions, for example, and the chance to poll and mailshot Guild members – for a joining fee.
Associate members will pay a flat fee of £5,000 per annum in return for a less extensive range of privileges.
“We are very pleased indeed to number such companies as Virgin Atlantic, bmi, and Hyatt Hotels among our partner suppliers,” says Carlisle. “We anticipate that the new associate-level membership category will enable smaller, but no less important, companies to play a part in the Guild's work.”
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